Those early spring ingredients are ready to serve
Warmer weather means it’s time to show off their versatility
Ingredients and their availability can tell you a lot about time and place. In a country where it's easy to buy a lemon no matter where you are and no matter what time of year, it can be hard to remember how food and the seasons are closely tied.
When it comes to spring, there are certain items, such as tender green shell peas, that help us stretch toward the light after a long winter. And then there are ingredients such as asparagus that are available pretty much everywhere, all the time, but taste so especially good in season. In noticing the distance between the okay and amazing, and the pleasure of celebrating something when it has a small window of time, there's a valuable life lesson.
Some of the best — and my favorite — spring ingredients are a mix of the readily available and the fleeting. From eggs to sweet crab, the five featured in the accompanying recipes are all wonderfully versatile — so much so that easy variations showcase their range and will encourage your own creativity.
The shaved asparagus salad (which could easily be thinly sliced asparagus salad) is dressed with a North African-inspired mixture of preserved lemons, their brine, honey, olive oil and is sprinkled with pistachios. If you can make that, you also can lean toward Italy and use fresh lemon juice instead of the preserved lemon and substitute pine nuts and Parm for the pistachios. Or leave Western flavors altogether and make an easy mixture of toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar and soy sauce, then shower the stalks with sesame seeds.
One of the simplest ways to turn rhubarb from sour and tough to sweet and yielding is to chop it and simmer it with sugar and water. This mixture can be strained and mixed with lime juice and seltzer for a pink twist on a Lime Rickey, or mixed with the same plus some tequila for the most beautiful margarita (throw it in the blender, if you wish, and salt the rims of your glasses). Or you can puree the poached rhubarb with its syrup and fresh strawberries and freeze the mixture to make a granita that has all the flavor of strawberry-rhubarb pie without all the fuss of making one.
Peas and mint have been friends for a long time, but I like to combine them with spinach, ginger, cilantro and fish sauce for a more Vietnamese approach. Add cumin seeds and a dollop of yogurt, and you're transported to India. Swap extra garlic for the ginger and basil for the herbs, and you've got a simple Italian side dish. Fresh peas shine in all of these, but frozen peas make these recipes good anytime.
I eat eggs nearly every day, but a soft-boiled one feels like the best way to honor a really fresh spring egg. Soft-boiled ones with their luxurious yolks, especially, can stand up to bold flavors. My favorite thing to do is to combine them not only with something assertive, but also something rich and fatty to make them extra indulgent. Enter avocado and kimchi . . . or butter and anchovies . . . rich yogurt and a spritz of bright lemon. Anything goes. Eat these combinations on toast or with nutty cooked grains for some texture contrast.
Crab might be the most indulgent spring ingredient of all. My mantra is that when I splurge, I make it worth it. The featured salad is a mixture of crabmeat, small potatoes and watercress, all bound with a mustardy, lemony, creme fraiche dressing. It's what I imagine ladies who lunch eat, but I'd rather spend my money on crab than a mediocre salad. The crab and potatoes can be smashed into cakes that you pan-fry and serve with the sauce for dipping. Or swap spaghetti for potatoes and let the lemon pour down for the most delicious pasta.
From my kitchen to yours, spring.
Shaved Asparagus Salad with Pistachios and Preserved Lemon Dressing 4 servings
Turning tender stalks into light and airy ribbons is easy to do with a vegetable peeler. But you can just thinly slice the asparagus (on the bias is especially nice). This recipe offers three simple and quick ways to dress and serve them; see the VARIATIONS, below.
Preserved lemon is available at Middle Eastern markets and in jars at Whole Foods Markets.
MAKE AHEAD: If you want to plan ahead, make the dressing in a large bowl and then place the shaved (or sliced) asparagus on top and don't mix the two together. Drape the asparagus with a dampened paper towel and leave at room temperature for up to 2 hours or in the refrigerator overnight. Mix together just before serving. (This make-ahead technique goes for the VARIATIONS as well.)
From cookbook author Julia Turshen.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons finely chopped preserved lemon, plus 11/ tablespoons 2 preserved lemon brine (see headnote) 1 teaspoon honey 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt 1 pound fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed 3 tablespoons roasted, unsalted shelled pistachios, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped (see NOTE)
Steps
Whisk together the chopped preserved lemon, its brine, honey and oil in a large mixing bowl. Taste and season lightly with salt, as needed (this will depend on how salty your preserved lemons are).
Use a sharp vegetable peeler to shave each asparagus spear into long ribbons, adding them to the bowl as you work. If any of the asparagus tips break off while you're doing this, just add them as well.
Use your clean hands to gently coat the asparagus with the dressing. Transfer to a serving platter; sprinkle with the pistachios and serve right away.
VARIATIONS: To make a Shaved Asparagus and Parmesan Salad, omit the chopped preserved lemon and use fresh lemon juice instead of the preserved lemon brine. Toasted pine nuts sub in for the pistachios. Top with plenty of shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
To make a Shaved Asparagus Salad With Sesame and Soy, omit the preserved lemon dressing. Whisk together 1 tablespoon each plain rice vinegar, low-sodium soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and olive oil. Use that mixture to dress the asparagus, then transfer to a platter and top with a shower of roasted sesame seeds.
NOTE: To toast pistachios on a baking sheet, spread in a single layer, in a 400-degree oven for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking them once so they brown evenly. Cool completely before using.
Nutrition | Per serving: 150 calories, 3 g protein, 7 g carbohydrates, 13 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 135 mg sodium, 3 g dietary fiber, 4 g sugar
Rhubarb and Strawberry Granita 4 servings
Pureeing fresh strawberries with poached rhubarb and its fragrant simple syrup gives you the base for a delicious granita. This is a fun and refreshing dessert that has all of the flavor of strawberryrhubarb pie — without all the fuss of making a pie.
Serve with whipped cream for an almost rhubarb creamsicle effect.
MAKE AHEAD: The rhubarb syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month. The granita takes a total of about 21/ hours 2 to set, and can be frozen for up to 1 week.
From cookbook author Julia Turshen.
Ingredients
2 rhubarb stalks, finely chopped (8 to 10 ounces total) 1/ cup water
2 1/ cup sugar
4 1 pound strawberries, hulled and chopped (3 cups) 2 tablespoons vodka
Steps
Combine the rhubarb, water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the rhubarb is softened. Let cool.
Transfer to a blender, along with the strawberries and vodka. Puree until smooth, then transfer to an 8- or 9inch-square baking dish, cover and freeze for a total of 21/ 2 hours, pulling it out to scrape through with a large fork every 30 minutes or so, to create a flaky-crystal consistency.
Divide among shallow bowls or small glasses for serving.
Nutrition | Per serving: 130 calories, 2 g protein, 27 g carbohydrates, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 5 mg sodium, 5 g dietary fiber, 20 g sugar
Rhubarb Rickeys 4 servings
The base for this nonalcoholic riff on a classic lime rickey is a stunning and versatile syrup.
MAKE AHEAD: The syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Mix with lime juice and seltzer just before serving.
From cookbook author Julia Turshen.
Ingredients
2 rhubarb stalks, finely chopped (about 9 ounces total) 1/ cup water
2 1/ cup sugar
4 1/ cup fresh lime juice (from 2
4 limes) 2 cups plain seltzer Ice 1 lime, cut into thin slices, for garnish
Steps
Combine the rhubarb, water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the rhubarb is softened. Let cool, then strain into a pitcher through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing down to extract all the flavor from the rhubarb. Discard those solids or reserve for another use. The syrup yield is about 1/ cup. 2
Stir the lime juice and seltzer into the rhubarb syrup.
Fill 4 highball glasses with ice. Put a few lime slices in each one. Divide the rhubarb rickey mixture among the glasses and serve right away.
Nutrition | Per serving: 50 calories, 0 g protein, 13 g carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 35 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 12 g sugar